More of a two-step than a shuffle for new Junior Ministers

Carroll MacNeill and O'Donnell elevated to junior ministerial ranks in unremarkable shuffle

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Jennifer Carroll-MacNeill, who will oversee the credit union and insurance sectors, at Government Buildings this afternoon. Picture: Gareth Chaney

Today's announcement of the reshuffled junior ministerial line-up was more of a two-step than a shuffle, with minimal changes.

For Fianna Fáil and the Green Party, that meant no changes in names, with only a movement of portfolio for Sean Fleming and Thomas Byrne.

Fine Gael, however, brought two new junior ministers into office on Wednesday as Leo Varadkar looked to reward two TDs who are seen to have been loyal and hard-working in this Dáil.

At the Department of Finance, new junior minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will oversee the credit union and insurance sectors. She is a barrister and former solicitor who was previously the party's legal adviser. 

Elected in 2020 in the Dun Laoghaire constituency, she had been a party councillor and worked as an advisor in the Department of Housing under then-Minister Eoghan Murphy. There, she worked on the establishment of the Land Development Agency and the National Planning Framework. 

Ms Carroll MacNeill also acts as Vice-Chair of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party and Spokesperson for Equality. She is also Vice Chair of the Justice Committee as well as being a member of the Public Accounts Committee and the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement Committee.

Since her election, she has repeatedly raised the issue of gender-based and domestic violence. Earlier this year, she told a court in Dublin that a man’s decision to send her sexually explicit videos meant she was filled with a “cold sense of dread” and concerns for her safety during the 2020 election campaign. The man was handed a suspended sentence and ordered to stay away from Leinster House.

Kieran O'Donnell will be tasked with getting an election for a directly-elected mayor of the county over the line. File photo: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Kieran O'Donnell, meanwhile, will take over the junior housing portfolio, picking up the role vacated by Peter Burke's move to European Affairs. A Limerick City TD, he will be tasked with getting an election for a directly-elected mayor of the county over the line. 

Mr O'Donnell was elected in Limerick East in 2007 and retained a seat in the redrawn City constituency in 2011, but lost his seat in 2016. He was subsequently elected to the Seanad, where he was the Fine Gael spokesperson on Finance.

A qualified accountant, Mr O'Donnell was a member of the Banking Inquiry and has served on the Public Accounts Committee. He is currently Chairperson of the Oireachtas Transport and Communications committee and a member of the Budgetary Oversight Oireachtas Committee.